-P- The Angels have traded shortstop Orlando Cabrera to the White Sox for starter Jon Garland. My first reaction was that this was a steal for the Angels, but after looking into it further, I'm not sure. This deal presumably opens a spot for Brandon Wood to start at shorstop, which is great for Los Angeles, but Garland is owed $12 million in 2008. While he reliably eats innings, his strikeout rate shrunk to 4.23 batters per nine last year. His ERA was also 4.23, and one wonders if he'll be able to keep that up next year, particularly without Orlando Cabrera behind him, and especially if the Angels trade for Miguel Cabrera. Still, 200 innings are 200 innings. The Sox, meanwhile, get an upgrade over Juan Uribe in a very thin shortstop market. This is a pretty good trade for both sides, I think.

-P- Mike Lowell will sign a three-year, $37.5 million deal to stay with the Red Sox. This seems like a lot to pay a merely good player in his mid-30s.

-P- The A's have traded utility infielder Marco Scutaro to the Jays for minor league starting pitchers Kristian Bell and Graham Godfrey. This is mostly just a case of the Athletics getting rid of a player they don't really need anymore. Neither Bell nor Godfrey are all that interesting, but as minor league starters, they at least have a chance of succeeding in the bullpen. The Jays now have approximately eight trillion utility infielders on their roster, so who knows what they're doing.

-P- Tom Glavine is returning to the Braves for one year and $8 million. It's probably worth it for Atlanta in PR value alone, and Glavine had been reasonably effective until 2007, but with the 89 strikeouts and 64 walks he posted last year, I wouldn't expect him to contribute all that much.